The APA voted this week to classify Lows Lake as Wilderness. You can read more of the Almanack‘s coverage of Lows Lake here, and the Adirondack Daily Enterprise‘s report here, but the following is a press release issued today by the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK):

The Adirondack Park Agency’s landmark decision today to classify Lows Lake as Wilderness will provide added protection to two important wilderness canoe routes.
“This decision also confirms that when the state wholly owns the bed and waters of a lake in the Adirondack Park, as it does with Lows Lake, it is part of the Forest Preserve, protected by the Forever Wild clause of the state Constitution,” said Neil F. Woodworth, executive director of the Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK).

Lows Lake is the hub of two multi-day wilderness canoe routes: Bog River to Lows Lake to Little Tupper Lake via Bog Lake, Lake Lila and Rock Lake, and the route from Bog River through Lows Lake to the Oswegatchie River in the heart of the Five Ponds Wilderness.

“APA’s action is a vital step in protecting the wild character of these canoe routes, which offer rare opportunities in the Adirondacks for quiet canoeing and kayaking,” Woodworth said. “This is the proper follow-up to the agency’s decision to phase out floatplane use on the lake by the end of 2011.”

The APA, by a 6-4 vote, added most of the waters and bed of Lows Lake to the Five Ponds Wilderness. The rest of the lake was classified as Primitive, which also prohibits motorized uses. The classification plan now goes to Gov. Paterson for final approval.

“This classification is a clear statement by the APA that it is committed to fulfilling its obligation under the Master Plan to manage Lows Lake as Wilderness,” Woodworth said. “This prevents potential backsliding in the future.”

The Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK), founded in 1922, is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to protecting the New York State Forest Preserve and other wild lands and waters through conservation and advocacy, environmental education and responsible recreation.